Fabio Capello silent on England captaincy issue

England manager Fabio Capello refused to answer questions about his decision to axe John Terry as captain at the qualifying draw for Euro 2012.

Capello stripped the Chelsea defender of the captaincy on Friday following allegations he had an affair with an England team-mate's ex-girlfriend.

But when quizzed on Terry and the decision to name Rio Ferdinand as his captain, Capello gave a brief reply.

"I want to speak about the draw. Nothing else," he said.

"I spoke with John Terry, you all know why. It was a private conversation. No other questions. I am concentrated on football."

Terry has been at the centre of a media storm following allegations he had an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of England and former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge.

Capello dismissed Terry as skipper in a reportedly brief meeting at Wembley on Friday, saying in a statement that "after much thought I have made the decision that it will be best for me to take the captaincy away from John Terry".

The 63-year-old Italian has not spoken publicly about the captaincy issue and attempted to end any debate about his decision when pressed by a large group of journalists attending the qualifying draw for Euro 2012 in Warsaw.

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"I am not surprised by the number of journalists, I was waiting for them," he added, after watching his side get drawn with Wales, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro for 2012 qualifying.

"But it has been a normal week for me. There have been no problems."

Meanwhile, players' union chief Gordon Taylor has offered to help Terry and Bridge get through the controversy.

"It is for everybody to deal with these issues as they feel fit and John Terry's best way to deal with them is to get playing football again. Same with Wayne Bridge," Taylor told BBC Radio 5 live.

"I'm chief executive of the players' union and both parties know they can have help and advice and that offer has been made to both of them.

"They are footballers and that is what they need to focus on now. That is why Capello made the decision in the way he did, to let both players know that he was trying to be fair to everybody.

"We can try to move on and take the heat out of the situation. We do seem to have a media circus building up with momentum every time we come to a World Cup, it's a little bit earlier this year than normal.

"Sometimes footballers don't realise the depth of media intensity and when it comes it can knock them back."

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